Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been photographed spending time with former NBA player Sebastian Telfair inside FCI Fort Dix

Two photos obtained by TMZ - the first of Combs behind bars - show him talking with a group of prisoners, one of whom has been identified by Telfair's publicist as the 40-year-old former basketball player.

Both men hail from Brooklyn and are among the most recognisable inmates currently housed at the low-security federal facility.

Telfair, who began his six-month sentence in August for violating the conditions of his supervised release in a healthcare fraud case, is approaching the halfway point of his term.

Telfair was once one of the most highly regarded high-school prospects in American basketball.

Drafted in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers out of Abraham Lincoln High School, he went on to play for several teams during a career that spanned more than a decade, including the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder, before finishing his career in China.

In 2023, Telfair pleaded guilty to fraud charges after being found among 18 former NBA players who defrauded the league's health and welfare benefit plan of about $4 million.

He was initially sentenced to time served and three years' probation, which included court-ordered community service, before being returned to prison this year.

Combs, who was transferred to Fort Dix from Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, requested the move to be closer to his family and to access a drug rehabilitation programme.

The Bad Boy Records founder is eligible for early release on 8 May 2028, provided he maintains good behaviour, which would see him serve roughly 85 percent of his 50-month sentence under federal guidelines.

The Bureau of Prisons has confirmed Combs' projected release date takes into account credits available under the First Step Act - a reform programme designed to reward prisoners for rehabilitation efforts.

FCI Fort Dix, opened in 1992, houses about 4,000 inmates.

By comparison, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn - where Combs spent time following his September 2024 arrest - holds around 1,250.

During court proceedings, Combs admitted his current incarceration marks the first time in 25 years he has been sober.